James Harden wants out but he’s making it difficult for the Rockets to trade him

James Harden is finally back at camp, but things aren’t ok.

Here we are, yet again. Another NBA offseason, another significant star potentially on the move.

This time, instead of Anthony Davis, it’s James Harden. And, to this point, he seems to be putting the Rockets in an even bigger bind than Davis did with the Pelicans.

Harden has essentially been ghosting the Rockets for the last few days. He didn’t show up for the start of training camp last week and was caught, instead, partying in Atlanta for Lil Baby’s birthday.

He left his teammates to answer awkward questions about his future with the team and only offered an emoji as a response.

He literally just showed up to camp for the first time on Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi.

This hasn’t been a good look for anyone involved. Harden obviously wants out still, but he’s making it so much harder for that to actually happen.

Let me explain.

Harden is hurting his trade value

But it’s not falling because of any skill deterioration or anything on the court. It’s because of everything Harden is doing off of it.

He requested a trade, which is fine and well within his right to do. Trade requests are well within an NBA player’s right. A team can trade them at any moment without notice. Trade requests are a way for players to bring about a balance of power on a scale that has been uneven for decades between themselves and ownership.

But, at the same time, because he’s been so difficult for the Rockets to handle so far this offseason they’ll only be able to negotiate a trade from a place of weakness. Teams know that the Rockets need to get rid of Harden and they’ll take whatever they can back in the deal to do it.

That lessens the potential return in a trade for Harden which, as a result, will make his stint in Houston a bit longer. The Rockets have made their asking price clear — they want a star prospect and a bundle of first round picks from any Harden deal. And, according to reporting from Woj, they’re willing to wait it out until they get it.

“The Rockets have been adamant that they will not be rushed into trading Harden, regardless of how uncomfortable the situation has become with the three-time scoring champion failing to report to training camp while partying in Atlanta and Las Vegas.”

So, yeah, this could be a while.

Harden has opened up a bit and that may change things

Things change pretty quickly in the NBA. Harden is almost certainly done with the Rockets, but it seems that he may have decided to work with the team to facilitate something.

In that same piece, Wojnarowski reported that Harden is willing to play for the 76ers, or other contenders, if the team can’t get a deal done with the Nets and that opens the trade market up a little bit more. Plus, he’s finally showed up for camp after his extended absence in Atlanta. All of this helps boost the Rockets return — even if it’s just a little.

This marriage is over. There’s no debating that. But how it ends is largely up to Harden and how he wants to play it. If he comes in and balls out like he usually does? He’ll probably be out of the door sooner. If he does the opposite? We may have to wait until next offseason to get this thing done.

Hopefully, for the NBA’s sake, that doesn’t happen. Because a season without Harden at his peak isn’t a great season at all.